AT LEAST four times a week, Ted Baillieu drives to the nearest pool, swims two kilometres and rounds off his laps with 100 push-ups. Unlike the Premier, Daniel Andrews has never been much of a Speedo man, but the Labor leader is equally obsessed when it comes to golf.

Away from Spring Street, you'll often find Andrews teeing off at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne's south-east, his eyes fixed firmly on the flag in the distance.

Those who know him say the sport keeps him driven and focused - which isn't a bad thing for an opposition leader playing the long game against a first-term government.

Two years since Andrews was given the dubious honour of leading a party dumped from office after 11 years in power, most agree he has done a decent job, considering the circumstances.

Advertisement

Shadow cabinet remains united, devoid of the infighting that has often derailed opposition parties. Policies are gradually being rolled out, including a job strategy released last month with 67 new initiatives. And Labor's blowtorch has been liberally applied whenever there's a Coalition cut, cock-up or broken promise. Needless to say, there have been a few.

The big test for Andrews, though, is whether he can elevate his game enough to do the unthinkable: win back government in one term, in an environment when his opponent isn't necessarily underperforming.

The fact that Baillieu has had an unremarkable start has obviously worked in Labor's favour.

But last month's Newspoll - which put the Coalition behind the ALP for the first time since coming to office - seems to have been the wake-up call the government needed as it passed the halfway mark of its first term.

In recent weeks, Baillieu has been out almost every day making public announcements in a bid to counter the ''go-slow'' perceptions dogging his leadership. Ministers have also upped the ante, hitting the airwaves and attending events in a bid to generate positive news: a hospital upgrade here, a new suburb there.

And in Parliament, the Premier has been surprisingly fired up, sometimes even on the verge of aggressive, in stark contrast to the low-key bloke who usually is prepared to sit back and let the action swirl around him.

If the Coalition keeps up the momentum (and that's still a big ''if''), Andrews will have an even tougher task than the one he now faces.

Baillieu might be slipping in the polls, but he's still beating the Labor leader in the preferred-premier stakes. The financial shackles that slowed the government's early progress have also started to ease, which means voters can expect to see more spending, more policies and more action over the next two years.

And let's not forget political history: Victoria doesn't traditionally do one-term governments - the last one was John Cain snr's, destroyed by the great Labor split in 1955.

If Andrews is to stand a chance at the election in 2014, he cannot just be a solid leader who does a good job holding the government to account. He would have to be pretty remarkable. Right now, he is struggling to cut through.

''I'm not so much interested in being popular and being a household name as I am interested in working hard and making sure we've got strong policies,'' he told The Sunday Age last week.

''We're going to be outspent in 2014, but we're not going to be outworked. I understand we have a big job ahead of us to win back the support of the Victorian community, but we're committed - absolutely committed - to working as hard as we can to have a real crack.''

No one doubts Andrews' hunger, but there are some challenges that ought to be dealt with.

First is the quality of Labor's frontbench. If Andrews is serious about bringing the best team forward, mediocre performers should be relegated to make way for promising backbenchers, such as Williamstown MP Wade Noonan, Jane Garrett (Brunswick), Colin Brooks (Bundoora) or Martin Foley (Albert Park).

Second, Labor needs to sharpen its focus on its traditional strong suits: education, health, jobs. Last month's job strategy was a positive start, and in education, the Coalition's relentless cuts to TAFEs and schools have given Labor plenty to work with.

But more should be done, particularly in health where there are many problems to highlight - waiting lists, ambulance services, hospital beds - yet opportunities are too often missed.

Third is Andrews' public profile and personal style. For years, people have known the Baillieu name, and now they're getting some sense (whether they like it or not) of Ted Baillieu. Few can say the same about Daniel Andrews.

Sooner or later, the 40-year-old MP will have to switch from merely being relentlessly negative to being seen as a viable alternative premier with a positive story to tell.

As he admits: ''I'm not just about being defined by the things I'm angry about. I want people to understand who I am, and who we are, and for us to be defined by the things that inspire us.''

It's a tough task for any opposition leader, let alone an underdog aiming for a political hole in one. Andrews might want to pick up his golf clubs and start swinging.